


Ugly Truth, Beautiful Lie

by TheLOAD



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: F/M, Kylo Ren Redemption, Redeemed Ben Solo, Redemption, a lot of OCs - Freeform, more characters will be added once they actually appear, ships may change as well
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-07
Updated: 2018-03-07
Packaged: 2019-03-28 04:49:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,780
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13896618
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheLOAD/pseuds/TheLOAD
Summary: The war has ended, and the galaxy is in the process of rebuilding. Ben Solo, returned to the Light has decided it's best for the galaxy if he fades into the background, taking to traveling from world to world as an unknown traveler, staying to help before leaving again. But on the jungle world of Depredador, Ben finds something, someone, he wants to stay for.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is an idea I had a while ago, and I finally decided to write it. Stela is a SW OC I came up with after TFA but before TLJ, so most of the stories I have written with her and Ren don't fit into the current canon. So I decided to try and fit her better.
> 
> The idea behind what Ben is doing is sort of my lowkey wish for the end of Episode IX. I like the idea of him deciding to basically become a wandering hermit after the war, traveling from world to world as an "nameless" helper, not ready to rejoin everyone until he finds himself.
> 
> Reviews are appreciated; let me know what you think.

If he was being honest with himself, Ben had no idea what to expect when he decided to head to Depredador, to see if there was anything he could do to help. Depredador had been so firmly under the control of the Empire, so neglected by the Republic, that as far as its natives were concerned, the first war never stopped. Empire to First Order, the only transition was the name.

And yet, they had won their freedom. The fight has been hard, yet somehow the raw determination of its natives had won out against the cruelty of the First Order. Raw determination, and the Commander of their militia, the now queen Mustela Cazador.

What Ben knew about her were only rumors and stories. Those in the First Order had known her as The Butcher, for her brutal tactics during the war. It didn't paint a promising picture, and Ben would be lying if he said he wasn't nervous.

The door swung open, and Ben looked up. Standing in the doorway was a man who had introduced himself as Kane N'abel, a dark skinned soldier who was only a few inches shorter than Ben himself.

"If you want to talk to her, you may just want to follow me," Kane said. "I can't promise she'll be free later, and things are slow now. Probably your best shot." Ben rose from his seat and followed Kane up the stairs. As they neared their destination, Ben could feel his anxiety grow. He could only imagine what sort of woman could face down the First Order, and earn such an alias for herself.

When the door finally opened, what he got wasn't what he had been expecting. The woman in the room, leaning over a table displaying maps and charts, seemed painfully normal. Her brown hair was tied back in a loose ponytail, a few flyaways framing her face. She looked up at the sound, hazel eyes meeting brown.

"Your Majesty," Ben said, bowing out of respect. Her mouth twitched, and he saw her shoot a glare in Kane's direction.

"Stela, please," she said. "There's no need for any formalities." She shut the table off and walked towards him. "So, what brings you to Depredador?"

"I want to help," Ben said, the same answer he had given every other world. After the war, a war he had helped start and continue and end, he needed to find himself. Needed to help as many people as he had harmed. "Any way I can." Stela looked him up and down, as if sizing him up. It made him feel uncomfortably like a piece of meet, and slowly he became aware of something pressing against him, a presence brushing against his in investigation.

 _She's Force Sensitive,_ Ben realized with mute horror. He was starting to regret coming here, realizing she could discover the truth of his identity. And he doubted a woman rumored for hacking apart First Order officers would appreciate having Kylo Ren around.

"How are you with machines?" She asked at last. Whatever she had been probing for, she either hadn't found it, or was satisfied by what she had found. "We have plenty of people to build, but not a whole lot as far as tech goes." Ben offered her a smile.

"I'm good with them," Ben said. "Better than good, if I want to brag." That earned him a smile, a small, crooked thing that he suspected was less fragile than it seemed.

"Brag all you want," Stela said. "Just know I'll hold you to it, and I don't like being disappointed. So," she crossed her arms, looking him over again, though this time it seemed more with mild interest than the probing she had done before, "I assume you have a name."

"I do," Ben said. A moment of silent passed, and Stela raised an eyebrow as Kane snickered.

"Can I hear it?" Stela asked.

"Relax, man," Kane spoke up. "We promise we don't bite."

"I'm Ben," Ben answered, flushing slightly. "Ben Suman." He prayed she wouldn't try and detect the lie.

"Alright, Ben," Stela said. "I've got a busy day, so how about you give me the rest of it to figure out where to throw you. You can start tomorrow." Ben nodded.

"Thank you," he said, only to earn a shake of Stela's head.

"No," she said. "Thank _you._ We need all the help we can get."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those who are curious, this is what Stela looks like:
> 
> https://78.media.tumblr.com/c5827b88421e827edb213ed5f9bd8221/tumblr_oe78a08M8d1r7x0tvo2_500.png


	2. Chapter 2

The plaza outside was full of life. There were people rebuilding, yes, but there was so much more than that. People talking, children running and playing ball. It brought a smile to Ben's face, reminded him of why he was doing this. When the war ended he could have stayed, they had wanted him to stay, had asked him to stay, but after everything he had done he had still felt lost. Unsettled. Too weighed down by his past deeds to ever settle back into civilization. Not yet, at least. He needed to figure out who he was. Ben Solo or Kylo Ren? Honestly, he wasn't sure he was either. He found a place to sit down, where too many people wouldn't approach him, and tried to relax. Tried to enjoy the feel of the community.

The squeal of a child brought him out of his thoughts and he looked up to see a boy, maybe about six, running down the street. Immediately he got a sense of the boy using the Force to make his way through the crowd. It distracted Ben from everything else, until a snarl dragged his attention away from the child, and to the largest Vornskr Ben had ever seen, in hot pursuit of the boy.

Instinct took over, and Ben jumped to his feet, throwing up a hand. He grabbed hold of the child with the Force and, gently, pulled him back towards himself. At the same time, his other hand reached for a blaster, which he brought up and aimed at the Vornskr. The beast crouched back and snarled, ready to lunge forward.

Ben suddenly became aware of the click of several blasters, and he glanced away from the beast for a moment to see several people aiming their weapons at him. In his grasp the boy whimpered and squirmed, drawing Ben's attention away from the others, and Ben could sense the fear coming from him. The child was afraid. Afraid of _him._

"What is going on here?" A voice demanded. Ben's eyes jumped from the boy to the source, and saw Stela standing there with Kane at her side. The man had his blaster aimed for Ben's heart. Stela was staring him down, her hazel eyes now ringed with gold, the Force crackling dangerously around her. She was furious, determined, and...terrified? Ben followed her gaze and realized she was looking at the child he was still holding, not at him. On a hunch, he let the boy go and dropped his blaster before lifting his hands above his head in surrender. Her reputation circled in his head, and he begged the Force that it was either an exaggeration, or long in the past. If he was lucky maybe she would let him slip away, to once again start over on another planet.

"Mommy!" The boy cried, rushing into Stela's arms. The queen dropped to her knees to embrace him, and Ben felt his stomach flip. Seeing the two of them standing side by side, he could see the boy shared his mother's dark complexion, though his hair was black instead of her brown.

"My sweet boy," Stela whispered, squeezing the boy tight enough to earn a wheeze from him. "Mijo. Martin, are you alright."

"I didn't hurt him," Ben spoke up. "I thought he was in danger." Stela looked up at him before standing, taking her son's hand. Now that he had a clear look at the child, Ben could see he was blind.

"In danger from what?" Stela asked, and Ben motioned helplessly towards the Vornskr, which still looked ready to tear out his throat. Why it hadn't yet was beyond him. Stela looked at the beast, then back at him, and some of the tension left her frame.

"We've had Victory since she was a cub," she explained. "She's never attacked a child, especially not Martin."

"Vornskr can be dangerous," Ben warned, but Stela only grinned.

"Trust me," she said. "She is." Stela looked around at the various people still aiming weapons at Ben, and huffed. "Alright at ease. Can't blame a guy for thinking a man eating predator may want to eat someone." She walked over and pet the Vornskr's neck, and the animal lost interest in Ben. So did everyone else, lowering their blasters and returning to whatever business they had been conducting before hand. Even Kane left, to do whatever his job was.

"I'm sorry," Ben said once they were alone, or at least once no one was obviously paying attention to them. "I thought he was in danger." In hindsight, he should have known better. The boy had simply been playing with his mother's pet. In response Stela only shrugged.

"It was an honest mistake," she assured him. "Your heart was in the right place, and no one was hurt, that's all that matters."

"He made me fly, Mommy," Martin said, excitement swiftly replacing his earlier fear. Stela's attention was immediately on her son, a faint smile on her face. "He pulled me like we can!"

"Yeah," Stela said, looking back over to Ben. "I noticed that about him. Never thought I'd get to meet a Force Sensitive I wasn't related to."

"How did you escape?" Ben asked. _We killed every one we knew about._ "The First Order controlled this world, how did no one find you?"

"We weren't important enough to come looking for," Stela said. "And even if they had, well..." at once she vanished from the Force, the same way an animal may fade into its surroundings. The sudden loss caught Ben off guard, but when he looked closer he could make out something faint.

"That's not an easy technique," Ben said as she let herself fade back into his senses.

"That's what I've heard," Stela said. "But it's my family's specialty. Not so good with everything else, though. It's hard to practice when you're being hunted."

"I could teach you," Ben offered. "If you want." In his mind's eye he could see Rey groaning at that before teasing him about that night on Starkiller.

Stela regarded him for a moment before nodding. "Follow me," she said. "I think I'm about done for the day, we can grab something to eat at my place."

**Author's Note:**

> For those who are curious, this is what Stela looks like:
> 
> https://78.media.tumblr.com/c5827b88421e827edb213ed5f9bd8221/tumblr_oe78a08M8d1r7x0tvo2_500.png


End file.
